Customs
by Saru Wolfe
Summary: This goes through The Waterbending Master in Pakku's POV, including flashbacks. Tells the story of his one and only love. Unrequited, of course.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Does anyone actually read this? Anyone? Oh well.

**Author's Note:** Really, I wrote this all in one go, but it was too long. I had to break it up. Written because I think there are way too few Pakku fics out there! I hope it inspires more, because I really love Pakku's story!

Master Pakku stood in a simple ready stance, breathing deeply of the frigid morning air. Soon, his students would arrive, but for now he enjoyed a moment to himself. He would be instructing the Avatar today. This should have been an exciting prospect, but Pakku was only irked that he had to tutor a beginner. As the water formed a sphere in front of him, he pushed the thought out of his mind and began a routine exercise to warm up his bending. He needed to concentrate on this before anyone showed up.

Too late. "Good morning, Master Pakku!" came the loud, overly cheerful shout from behind him. Pakku winced, consequently losing focus on the water. It splashed unceremoniously to the snow-covered ground.

Now thoroughly irritated by the interruption, he replied without turning around. "No, please, march right in; I'm not _concentrating_ or anything," he said, his words dripping with his usual dry sarcasm. Then he turned to face him – or, rather, them. A girl of no more than fifteen stood beside the boy expectantly.

The young Avatar obviously wasn't accustomed to people like Pakku (then again, few were), as he didn't seem sure how to respond. Instead, he continued, "Uh, this is my friend, Katara. The one I told you about?" The girl bowed politely.

Pakku eyed them warily. He hadn't expected this to happen. He had thought that even the simple people of the Southern Water Tribe knew about their customs. Apparently, though, judging by the eager look on the girl's face, they had no idea. Pakku decided to be civil in light of their ignorance. "I'm sorry. I think there's been a misunderstanding," he said, creating a seat of ice as he spoke. "You didn't tell me your friend was a _girl_." Well, it was as civil as he could be under the circumstances. His tone became darker, his expression more serious. "In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn water bending."

The girl's expression turned from perplexed to angry in an instant. "What do you mean, you won't teach me?" she demanded. She marched over to him. "I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me no!"

"No," Pakku said impassively. He wasn't fond of people throwing tantrums, especially in his training area.

"But there must be other female water benders in your tribe!" So, she was resorting to reason. But reason was useless without facts.

"Here, the women learn from Yagota to use their water bending to heal." Pakku smirked and added, "I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student – despite your bad attitude."

"I don't want to heal, I want to _fight_!" she yelled, lashing out at the air in front of her. As Pakku looked at her, for one instant, her chin became slightly sharper and her cheek bones more prominent, and he was looking at Kanna, at fourteen, annoyed at him again. His jaw tightened imperceptibly, and he blinked to clear the image. Those were the only outward signs that anything was amiss.

He continued as if nothing had happened, in the same dry tone. "I can see that. But our tribe has customs, rules."

"Well, your rules stink!" she yelled, glaring at him.

"Yeah, they're not fair!" The Avatar seemed to materialize beside the girl, defending her. "If you won't teach Katara, then…"

"Then what?" Pakku said, standing up threateningly.

"Then I won't learn from you!" he shot back.

Pakku sneered, "Well, have fun teaching yourself! I'm sure you'll do a great job!"

"Wait!" the girl cried out after the Avatar's retreating figure. She turned to Pakku, pleading. "Aang didn't mean that."

He watched the two of them converse quietly, with several glares sent his way. Finally, the Avatar nodded and turned toward Pakku sullenly. The girl left. _Good riddance_, he thought. Unfortunately, that left him with a student that was not only a beginner, but got on his nerves as well. He may as well have some fun with this. "Why don't we get started, then?" he said nastily. Before the boy could react, a mass of water had flung him back a good ten feet. Pakku smirked.

----------------------

The lesson had not gone well. Certainly Pakku had been harsh on the Avatar, but what did one expect? All new students had to be broken in, especially ones that had as little time as this one. For someone who had to master the elements, he wasn't very good at it.

Pakku had not seen the girl, Katara, again today. It was odd, what had happened back when she was arguing with him. He hadn't thought of Kanna in a very long time. In hindsight, it hadn't taken much for Katara's face to change into Kanna's. The resemblance was strange. She was certainly fiery and independent as Kanna had been, especially around him.

_Even as a teenager, Pakku had been a great water bender. His parents had arranged for him to take private lessons from Master Lun, to prepare him to take the position of Master Water Bender. The lessons took most of his time and energy, but to travel to and from them he had to cut through the market. That was when he usually saw her._

_He would often walk with his friend, Codan, and they would talk and joke and laugh, as young men do. More often than not, they would see Kanna, sometimes with Yagota, making her way up the street with a basket of fish, cloth, or some other product. Pakku stopped and lifted the basket out of her hands. "Let me get that for you," he said, with a dashing smile. Yagota giggled. Met with only a raised eyebrow and exasperated snort from Kanna, he started toward her house. He knew exactly where she lived._

_"I think I can carry a basket for a few blocks," a familiar voice said sarcastically from behind him – presumably having the same owner as the hand that was now hindering his progress._

_"It wouldn't be very polite to let a lady carry this load by herself," Pakku said smoothly. The basket was taken forcibly from him. "If you're sure," he called after her. She turned around to look crossly at him, but not without a hint of amusement at the corners of her mouth. This event happened several times more, in the same general pattern._

_A few times, he felt a sharp rap under his chin. "You're drooling," Codan would say, grinning._

_Once, after such an encounter, he confessed. "Codan, I have to tell you something…"_

_"You're running away to live with turtle-seals?" his friend guessed with mock hope._

_Pakku snorted. "I'm trying to be serious here." He lowered his voice. "That's who I'm going to marry."_

_Codan looked puzzled. "A turtle-seal?"_

_"Codan!"_

_"Sorry. Go on, then. Who's the lucky lady?"_

_"Kanna."_

_"_Kanna_?!"_

_"Yes," Pakku said coldly. "What's wrong with Kanna?"_

_"Nothing. She's… Well, you're good looking, you're rich, and you're going to have a good, steady job. You could have _anyone_."_

_"True. And I want Kanna," he said firmly._

_"I guess. There's no denying that she's pretty…"_

_She was the most beautiful girl Pakku had ever laid eyes on. "What's your point?"_

_"Wouldn't you like a more… compliant wife?"_

_Pakku just gave his friend a lopsided smile. _Not a chance_, he thought. At that point, he tuned Codan out and looked back, trying to catch another glimpse._

Pakku sighed and ran a hand over his face. Why did this have to come up now, after all these years? He had work to do; maybe that would distract him. That was it, he thought. All he had to do was get his mind back to work, and these memories would return to the dark corners of his mind where they belonged.

**Congratulations, you have survived Flashback Number One. Prepare yourself for many more. Oh, and review whilst you're at it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I wonder if anyone really does read this... Oly oly oxen free!

**Author's Note:** Poor Pakku, you think? The true angst is yet to come.

As it turned out, there wasn't enough to do, and Pakku was left feeling restless. He couldn't even use sleep as an escape. He cursed remembrance and the fact that he had nothing to do, as well as a few things in between. Shortly thereafter, he could be seen taking the timeless remedy for restlessness – a walk.

The freezing night air helped to clear his head some, and the walk tired him. He was almost ready to turn around and head back home when he saw two figures hurrying down the sidewalk. Curious, he made his way across a bridge to get to their side of the canal. They stopped almost below the bridge, and he recognized them now. It was the Avatar and Katara. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. What were they doing here at this time of night?

His question was soon answered as the Avatar drew some water up from the canal. "Master Pakku said this move is all about sinking and floating," the boy said, demonstrating the move, then passing the water to Katara. Immediately, he understood what was going on.

Pakku saw red. How dare they! How _dare_ they! These _children_ saw fit to go behind his back and break the traditions of his culture! They thought they could break the customs of the very tribe that was giving them hospitality! I cold rage overtook him. He vaguely heard the girl say, "I got it!" and he took control of the water, whipping it around her before drawing it to him.

"That was amazing!" the Avatar exclaimed.

"That wasn't me." They both seemed to realize something and looked up. Pakku separated the water into icicles and stabbed them into the bridge.

"I was just showing Katara a few moves," the boy stuttered.

Pakku cut him off. "You have disrespected me, my teachings, and my entire culture."

"I'm sorry, I…" Did he not understand the seriousness of what he had done?

"You are no longer welcome as my student." Then Pakku turned away in disgust.

Back at his home, he began pacing. Instead of calming him, his "walk" had only served to agitate him further. This, he decided, was the angriest he had ever been – perhaps not including the… incident between himself and Codan before his proposal to Kanna. He growled and rubbed his forehead. The last thing he needed, on top of all this, was to keep thinking about her.

"_Well, don't we look bright and chipper today?" was Codan's first observation. "Did Master Lun give you a gold star?"_

_Right now, though, even his friend's normally irksome banter couldn't ruin Pakku's cheerful mood. "Even better." He clapped Codan on the shoulder and led him farther down the sidewalk. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a necklace – not just any necklace, but a painstakingly carved betrothal necklace. Holding it out for inspection, he asked, "What do you think?"_

_Codan put a hand over his heart. "Why, Pakku, I'm flattered!"_

_Pakku socked him in the arm. "For Kanna, you idiot!" He grinned. "It's all worked out. Our parents talked about it and decided that it was a good arrangement. All I have to do is announce it to her – tonight!"_

_Codan stopped. "You're proposing? Tonight?"_

_"I think that's what I said. Why?"_

_"I just… can't picture Kanna married."_

_Pakku chuckled. "Well, she'll never be your average housewife. But we'll be happy together; I'm sure of it."_

_"Why?"_

_Pakku was startled. "What?"_

_Codan shrugged. "It's nothing in particular. I just wondered why you're so sure."_

_"I _love_ her. And you said so yourself: I'm handsome, rich, and due for a stable career as Water Bending Master. _Any_ girl would be happy with that."_

_"But, like you said, Kanna isn't 'any girl.'"_

_Pakku frowned. "And that's why I love her. What are you getting at, Codan?"_

_Codan looked rather uncomfortable. "Well… just in case… what if Kanna doesn't like this idea? What if she refuses?"_

_His temper sparked. "She can't refuse; it's an arranged marriage. And I've already told you, she'll be happy. I'll make her happy if it's the last thing I do."_

_"I was just saying…"_

_"I don't really care what you were saying," Pakku interrupted him sharply. "Goodbye." With that, he left Codan at the corner, adrenaline carrying him far faster than Codan cared to go. He watched Pakku with a concerned expression until he was out of sight. Then, sighing, he ambled back up the street._

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The next day, by which time Pakku had calmed down most of the way, the girl, the Avatar, and Sokka tried to plead with the leaders of the tribe. Pakku sat, staring straight ahead, not looking at anyone. After they had given their story, the chief said wearily, "What do you want me to do, force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

"Yes!" Katara said, then faltered. "Please."

"I suspect he might change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him," the chief suggested. Pakku decided that that would be something to see, if she was anything like Kanna, and looked down at her.

After a moment of consideration, she reluctantly decided. "Fine."

Pakku smirked at her sullen expression. "I'm waiting, little girl," he said condescendingly.

He saw the warning signs seconds before she flew into a rage. "_No_. No _way_ am I _apologizing_ to a sour old man like _you_!" Large cracks appeared in the floor and the decorative vases nearby exploded.

"Katara…" The Avatar's warning went unheeded.

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me," she declared, and marched out.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," the Avatar said apologetically.

"Yeah, I think she did," her brother said, rolling his eyes.

Pakku's eyes narrowed as they followed Katara out the entrance. This was the second time that Katara had looked frighteningly like Kanna, and both times had been when she was angry – or, considering this time, furious. Mostly, Kanna had just been annoyed at him, maybe even really angry from time to time. There was only one time that he could recall in which Kanna had been really infuriated at him – the last time.

_Pakku tried his best not to fidget as he stood in Kanna's home next to her father. Sodek smiled down at him warmly. Pakku attempted to smile back, but the results only made the man – his future father-in-law – chuckle. Kanna's mother was outside, watching for her. Sodek's deep voice interrupted the tense silence. "Relax. I was the same way when I proposed to Lida, but see how it turned out? You'll do fine." This time, Pakku's expression looked a good deal more like a smile. "You take care of my girl, understand?"_

_"Of course, sir. Always." Almost before he had gotten the words out, the sound of two women talking outside made him jump. Taking a deep breath, he tried to straighten his clothes out. He finished just in time for Kanna and Lida to walk in._

_Upon spotting Pakku, Kanna looked confused. "Hey, Pakku. What are you doing here?"_

_Pakku tried to respond, but didn't seem to be able to say anything. He could only stare at her. "We have something wonderful to tell you, darling," Lida said, filling the silence. Still staring at Kanna, Pakku watched her form a suspicion._

_Realizing that it was his cue, he groped around in his pouch and managed to withdraw the betrothal necklace. He took a deep breath and managed to speak. "Kanna," he said, holding out the necklace, "we're getting married."_

_He stayed like that for several seconds, heart pounding, watching a thousand emotions flash in her eyes. He hardly dared to move or breathe in wondering what her reaction was going to be. He was surprised._

_"That's it?" He heard the question, but failed to listen to the danger in her tone._

_"What?"_

_"No, 'will you marry me?' No, 'what do you think of becoming my betrothed?' Just, 'we're getting married.'" She got louder as she spoke._

_Pakku was lost at this point and fumbled for a response. "Honey," Sodek said gently, "this is an arranged marriage…"_

_But Kanna's attention was still on Pakku, and now she had abandoned all pretense of being civil. "How _dare_ you think you can just come here and tell _me_ who I'm getting married to? How _dare_ you assume that you can _marry_ me?" She was advancing on him as she yelled, and he was backing up. "You never even asked, not _once_! You never even brought up the subject!" He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he had to say was drowned out by her venting. "You don't even know or _care_ what I think!" Just as Pakku's back connected solidly with a wall, Lida pulled her daughter away._

_"Just a moment, now, Kanna," she said firmly, and dragged Kanna into a nearby room, where Sodek followed. Pakku could hear an argument taking place, but not what was being said. He just stood, staring at the door, and stoked the carving on the necklace still in his hand._

_After what seemed like an eternity, all three of them emerged. Kanna walked right up to him without looking him in the eye. She snatched the necklace out of his hand, clasped it on her neck, and stormed off. Pakku watched her go, still frozen in place. "Oh, Pakku, she's just…" But Lida couldn't think of what Kanna was._

_Pakku muttered a vague, "Thanks anyway," and trudged back home. On the way back, he saw Kanna standing on the defense wall, watching the ocean. He stood and looked at her for a long minute, then went on his way._

**Yeah, this was the Big Scene. Codan turned out to be a more important character than I intended... but oh well. One last chapter, with only one short flashback (if I remember correctly...). Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Aha to the lawyers! Aha, I say!

**Author's Note: **Yes. The Last Chapter. It includes (gasp) action! I apologize for any lack in this action scene, as action is not my forte.

Pakku was halfway down the steps in front of the council chamber when he vaguely heard Katara say, "Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy!" He couldn't help but smirk; he could only assume that "that guy" was him. This conceited girl wasn't worth his time.

She noticed him as he descended. "So you decided to show up?" she challenged. He walked right past her. "Aren't you going to fight?"

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong," he said derisively. A moment later, he felt a sharp sting on the back of his head, and he stopped. That was it. This girl had pushed him far enough. It was time to teach her a lesson. "Fine. You want to learn to fight so bad? Study closely!" He bent the water from two nearby pools to him. Of course, the first thing the girl did was run at him. He easily stopped her by merely shooting the mass of water at her. Before she could get up, he flung the water around them, creating a boundary of swiftly moving water.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," he said. She was stumbling around, trying to keep within the tightening circle. With a quick movement of her hand, she broke the circle and came at him with a water whip twirling in her hand. He tried to block her with a shield of ice, but she simply ran up it and jumped over. She landed unsteadily on the end of the handrail for the stairs. Pakku melted his ice shield and threw it at her. She rooted her stance with ice and dispersed the wave.

"You can't knock me down!" she shouted at him. _Such theatrics_, he thought. She rushed at him, melting through his ice shield with ease. She tried to punch at him several times, but her hand-to-hand was horrible. Just as she tried a round kick, he bent water from under her and launched her into one of the twin pools. She landed with a splash.

Katara summoned a mesa of ice and began firing ice discs. Pakku blocked the first few easily with his hands and barely dodged the last, which flashed bare millimeters from his face. When he looked up, a torpedo of water was speeding toward him. He pulled it around behind him and began a form, charging up the bending energy. Katara didn't intend to wait for him to finish; she dashed at him, but was too late. Two identical streams of water shot at her, knocking her off her feet and flipping her over onto her stomach. She got up onto her knees and breathed deeply.

Suddenly, she leapt up into some semblance of a cat stance, hands raised above her head. Pakku didn't understand what she was doing until he heard rumbling above and behind him. Two columns were collapsing on him! He quickly disintegrated them into a light snow.

"Well, I'm impressed," he said, and meant it. He had actually been tempted to train her just for her sheer potential. Customs, however, were customs. He would not go against them. "You are an excellent water bender."

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" It was almost more statement than question.

"No."

In response to that, a wave of ice and water rolled at him. He ascended on a column of ice, melting it a moment later and racing forward. She tried to hinder him with a sweep of water. However, he froze it and used it to slide by her, pushing her over in the process. He jumped onto the rim of a pool as Katara landed heavily in the snow, panting. While she was still vulnerable, he tried out his latest invention. He bent the water high into the air, swirled it, and drove it back down in the form of long, sharp icicles.

Katara was stunned at first, but it didn't take her long to start struggling. "This fight is over," he said sharply as he walked away.

"Come back here! I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes, you are," he said, radiating contempt. That abruptly changed when he noticed what he had almost stepped on, lying innocently in the snow. He picked it up. It couldn't be! "This… is my necklace!" he said in recognition. He picked it up by both sides to examine it more closely. How in the world did that get here?

"No, it's not! It's mine! Give it back!" he heard the girl shouting behind him.

"I made this sixty years ago… for the love of my life," he continued, almost to himself. Then he added, softly, "For Kanna."

"My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry _you_?" Katara asked in disbelief. The words should have been important to Pakku, but he was absorbed in his own world as he stared at the necklace.

_At the time, the popular design for betrothal necklaces was, obviously, the symbol for the Northern Water Tribe. It included a crescent moon and three small waves. Occasionally, a more artistic man would attempt a calm pool of water with ripples in it. Pakku didn't like either of these. They wouldn't fit on Kanna. Her stubbornness, dry sense of humor, and temper couldn't be reflected by a moon or calm water. Instead, Pakku decided that her necklace would be waves; not the small waves, but the big, crashing waves on the side of the ice cliffs surrounding the tribe. Pakku thought they were beautiful… beautiful, but not without danger. They were wild and untamable. They reminded him of Kanna, so he carved them onto her necklace. As he inspected his final work, one night, he decided that she would love it._

_Much later, though, Pakku sat on the outer wall, watching the waves. Apparently, Kanna had loved the necklace; she took it with her… when she left. He counted up the days, scratching out the numbers on the snow-covered rail. Two days, and they would have been married. His shoulders tensed as he fought another urge; he _wouldnot_ cry, not now. So he concentrated on his favorite waves crashing up against the wall below him, the steady rhythm of the water doing little to sooth him that night._

Pakku stood with his back to Katara, giving her the explanation she probably deserved. "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together." He returned his gaze to the necklace. "I loved her."

"But she didn't love you, did she?" The girl caught on quickly, but that was no excuse to _remind_ him of it. "It was an arranged marriage." How did the girl know that? "Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left." He turned away. "It must have taken a lot of courage."

Pakku closed his eyes and clutched the necklace even more tightly. Katara was bringing up more questions than she knew. For all of his life, Pakku had firmly adhered to the customs of his tribe. As far as he was concerned, they were the principles of morality. If these customs had forced Kanna to run away, though, maybe not everything was so set in stone. Of course, accepting that would mean accepting the grim reality that he himself had driven Kanna away. It was hard, though, to lose the only love of your life and then realize it was your fault. So he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and continued to study the necklace.

Katara was patient, but eventually he had to return the necklace to her. He handed it over reluctantly, watching wistfully as she clasped it back on with a smile. He wished with all of his heart that Kanna's expression had been like Katara's as she put that necklace on.

Awkwardly, she said, "Thank you."

Pakku nodded. "Thank you." Still smiling, she left. When she was gone, he sighed and settled down to contemplate these most recent revelations.

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The next day, Pakku was refreshed and back to his normal, intolerable self. He had started class by making the Avatar demonstrate his newest move. "Not bad, not bad," he chortled. "Keep practicing and maybe you'll get it by the time you're my age."

The Avatar looked less than amused at this assessment, but cheered up when he saw Katara running toward them. "Hey, Katara!" he said as she stopped beside him, out of breath.

"What do you think you're doing?" Pakku demanded. She looked up at him, shocked. "It's past sunrise," he elaborated with a smile. "You're late." She grinned and imitated his stance. As his two newest students exchanged friendly greetings, Pakku decided that, for this once, he could let custom slide.

**Huzzah! It is finished! And (gasp) it actually has an ending that I'm satisfied with? So, if you haven't reviewed before (or even if you have), then "Now's your chance!" Let me know what a wonderful, horrible, or mediocre writer I am!**

**Pakku rocks!**


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